The aim of the review is to give politicians and the general public an opportunity to gain insight into the basics of oil geology and oil economy, the different methods applied to assess regional and global conventional oil reserves and potential future production capacity, and - on this background - the prospects for a world economy increasingly dependent on oil-based technologies.

A preliminary edition of the review was presented at the conference "Oil-Based Technology and Economy - Prospects for the Future", held in Copenhagen on December 10th 2003. In the present edition, the Summary has been extended and additions have been made to some other sections. Some additions refer to the presentations at the conference, others to articles published shortly before or after the conference.

The review can be downloaded below.

Continued economic growth based on the presently predominant technologies implies continued growth in global oil demand.

In a world economy still becoming increasingly dependent on oil, an impending peak and subsequent decline in oil production implies potential severe economic consequences for the affluent as well as the developing countries. All parliaments, governments and international political institutions must therefore, consider the opportunities for and the costs of balancing demand and production in the next decades. At the conference, data and analyses essential for the realistic assessment of these opportunities and costs was presented and discussed.